Nest



Jan. 11, 1938. F. T. SMITH ET A1.

NEST

Filed Oct. 21, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR ATTOR N EYS Jan. 11, 1938.F. T. SMITH Er AL v NEST Filed oct. 21, 195el` 2 Sheets-Sheet 2NvEN-roRs ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 11,l 1938 PATENT @ENCE NEST FrederickT. Smith and Wilbert S. Smiley, Woodville, Pa.

Application Octoberv 21, 1936, Serial No. 106,888

1 Claim.

The invention relates to chicken coops and more especially to individualYchicken cages or egg laying nests. Y

'I'he primary object of the invention Yis the prol vision of a cage ornest of this character, wherein the same can be individually hung upon asupport or Within a frame and will assure the rolling of the egg whenlaid without the cage so that it can be collected with ease and dispatch10 and such cage is thoroughly sanitary in Vthat the droppings arecaught upon a pan outside of the cage, this pan being readily removablefor cleaning purposes.

Another object of the invention is the pro- Vision of a cage of thischaracter, wherein one or a group thereof can be conveniently hung foruse and each cage is independent of the other and is readily removableshould the occasion require, there being water and feed troughsconveniently arranged and the said feed trough serving to hold the mainor front door of the cage closed and fastened to avoid the escape of ahen when occupying the said cage and wherein an egg when laid will rollto a point where the same can be readily collected Without disturbingthe hen Within the cage.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a cage of thischaracter, wherein the construction thereof is novel in form and is individual in kind.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a cage ofthis Character, which is simple in construction, thoroughly reliable andeffective in its operation, comparatively light in weight yet strong,durable, and inexpensive to manufacture.

With these and other objects in View, the invention consists in thefeatures of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as willbe hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, which disclose the preferred and modied forms of embodiment ofthe invention and pointed out in the claim hereunto appended.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a wall showing a cageconstructed in accordance with the invention hung therefrom.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the pan for droppings from the cage.

Figure 3 is an elevation of one of the hangers for said pan.

Figure 4 is an end elevation showing a feeding trough connected with thecage.

Figure 5 is a front elevation of a slight modication.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views in the drawings.

Referring to the drawings in detail, A designates generally a portion ofa vertical wall for an enclosure and upon this wall is hung the cageconstituting the present invention and hereinafter fully described.

` I The cage constituting the present invention comprises a body I0formed from lengths of spaced Wires I I, these crossing each other andat the points where the same are crossed are suitably united with eachother to effect the body fabric. The body I0 at its bottom is extendedbeyond the front thereof to form an egg rack I2 which protrudes therequired distance forwardly of the front of said body While the front ofthis body next to its bottom is formed with an opening I3 so that eggswhen laid by a hen within the body when contacting with the bottom canroll through the opening I3 into the rack I2 by gravity in a mannerpresently described.

Formed at the back of the body I!) next to the top thereof is asubstantially triangular shaped rearward extension Il which is adaptedfor engagement with a pair of spaced fasteners or hooks l5 carried bythe wall A and this extension i4 causes the body I0 when hung upon thefasteners or hooks I5 to incline outwardly from the Wall A thusdisposing the bottom of said body at a forward inclination and when anegg is laid by a hen within the body I0 it Will roll upon the bottomthrough the opening I3 into the rack I2 which is provided with themarginal ledge I6 for retaining the egg when received therein. Thus theegg or eggs within the rack I2 can be conveniently and easily collectedwithout disturbing a hen Within the body I0. This body I0 can be readilydetached from the fasteners or hooks I5 when the occasion requires.

Detachably fastened to the bottom of the body I0 is a pair of front andrear suspension yokes or hangers I1 and I8, respectively, in which isaccommodated a pan I9 for droppings from within the body I0. The pan isslidably and removably fitted in the hangers II and I8 to be suspendedin a horizontal plane when the body I0 is hung upon the Wall A as isclearly shown in Figure 1 of the drawings.

The body at its front is provided with a vertically swinging door 2l)and this door when the body is hung from the wall A is maintained closedand latched by a releasable feeder trough 2| detachably fastened at thefront of said body I0, the trough being shown in Figure 4 of thedrawings attached to the body Ill and overlying the door 20. Thecontents of the trough 2l can be conveniently reached by a hen whenwithin the body ID.

In Figure 5 of the drawings there is shown a slight modification,wherein a series of cages 22Y are hung side by side from a wall B uponhooks 23, these disposed in a horizontal row and carried by said wall.

In Figure 6 of the drawings there is shown another modification, whereina pan 24 is common to the series of cages 25 thus affording a single panfor the series of said cages 25 and this pan traps the droppings fromthe respective cages.

In Figure 7 of the drawings there is shown a further modiiication,wherein a stand 26 supports within it upper and lower cages 21 and 28,respectively. This stand 26 is duplex in kind to provide double tiersand at the front of each tier on the uprights 29 thereof are brackets3() for removably supporting feed troughs 3|, these being disposed nextto the fronts of the upper and lower cages 21 and 28 and functioning tohold the doors of such cages closed similarly to the trough 2! shown inFigure 4 of the drawings. Between the tiers are brackets 32 foraccommodating water troughs 33, these serving for both upper and lowerseries of cages 21 and 28 for watering purposes. Y

In Figures 8 and 9 of the drawings there is shown a still furthermodification of the invention, wherein a single horizontal row of cages34 is hung within a stand 35 which is adaptable for accommodating thesingle horizontal row of said cages and carries at its front the feedtrough 36 and at the rear a water trough 37, the latter being equippedwith an overow or drain pipe 38.

The cages before described are individual in that any selected cage canbe removed from its support without disturbing the remaining cages andsuch cage is thoroughly sanitary.

It is preferable to provide at the front and back of the body IU of eachcage openings 39 and 40, respectively, the latter being for enabling thehen within the cage to acquire water from the trough 33 while theopening at the front 39 allows unobstructed viewwithin the cage from thefront thereof.

What is claimed is:

A cage of the character described comprising a reticulated body havingsides, bottom, top, front and back, respectively, the said front beingwith an opening next to the bottom, a rack extending from the bottomforwardly of the front beneath the opening therein, an extended top andback at the rear uppermost portion of the body and constituting asubstantially triangular shaped formation across the said body, meansengageable with the said formation for the hanging of the body upon asupport to have the entire bottom forwardly inclined with respect to theperpendicular when upon the support, a pan outside of the body beneathits bottom and disposed hori- 1

